Thoughts on Life, Love, Politics, Hypocrisy and Coming Out in Mid-Life

Saturday, December 31, 2016

Snatching Health Care Away From Millions

The perverse part of me takes some measure of delight in watching the media coverage of the many cretins - many of whom are highly religious (see the previous post) - who voted for Donald Trump and Republicans agonizing over the consequences of a repeal of the Affordable Health Care Act. Many of these individuals, especially GOP loving red states, could literally find themselves losing all health care coverage and being at the mercy of hospital emergency rooms as their sole source of medical treatment - treatment that will not include preventive care or maintenance care. Adding to the mix is the danger that smaller rural hospitals will be forced into bankruptcy and closing. And who is to blame for this dire situation? Trump and GOP voters, of course. They allowed appeals to racism, xenophobia and bigotry to dupe them into committing what may prove to be a form of suicide. Do I have sympathy for these folks? None whatsoever, although I fear for the consequences to children who may lose health care access thanks to the stupidity of their elders. As a column in the New York Times points out, regardless of the spin efforts of the GOP and Trump, a/k/a Der Fuhrer, these people must be made to realize that they themselves and the GOP/Trump will be responsible if their fears are realized. Here are column highlights:

If James Comey, the F.B.I. director, hadn’t tipped the scales in the campaign’s
final days with that grotesquely misleading letter, right now . . . . the huge
gains achieved so far — tens of millions of newly insured Americans and dramatic
reductions in the number of people skipping treatment or facing financial hardship
because of cost — look as if they’re here to stay.

Or they would be here to stay
if the man who squeaked into power thanks to Mr. Comey and Vladimir Putin
wasn’t determined to betray his supporters, and snatch away the health care
they need.

To appreciate the good news about Obamacare you need to understand where
the earlier bad news came from. Premiums on the exchanges, the insurance
marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act, did indeed rise sharply this
year, because insurers were losing money. But this wasn’t because of a surge in
overall medical costs, which have risen
much more slowly since the act was passed than they did before. It reflected,
instead, the mix of people signing up — fewer healthy, low-cost people than
expected, more people with chronic health issues.

The question was whether
this was a one-time adjustment or the start of a “death spiral,” . . . And the
answer is that it looks like a one-shot affair. Despite higher premiums, enrollments
in the exchanges are running ahead of their levels a year ago;
no death spiral here.

In other words, Obamacare hit a bump in the road, but appears to be
back on track. But will it be killed
anyway?

In a way, Democrats should hope that Republicans follow through on
their promises to repeal health reform. After all, they don’t have a
replacement, and never will. . . . because they can’t; the logic of broad
coverage, especially for those with pre-existing conditions, requires either an
Obamacare-like system or single-payer, which Republicans like even less. That
won’t change.

As a result, repeal would
have devastating effects, with people who voted Trump among the biggest losers.
Independent estimates suggest that Republican plans would cause 30 million
Americans to lose coverage, with about half the losers
coming from the Trump-supporting white working class. At least some of those
Trump supporters would probably conclude that they were the victims of a
political scam — which they were.

Why do the Republicans hate health reform? Some of the answer is that
Obamacare was paid for in part with taxes on the wealthy, who will reap a huge windfall if it’s repealed, even as
many middle-income families face tax hikes.

More broadly, Obamacare must
die precisely because it’s working, showing that government action really can
improve people’s lives — a truth they don’t want anyone to know.

How will Republicans try to
contain the political fallout if they go ahead with repeal, and tens of
millions lose access to health care? No doubt they’ll try to distract the
public — and the all-too-compliant news media — with shiny objects of various
kinds.

When the number of uninsured Americans skyrockets on their watch,
they’ll claim that it’s not their fault — like everything, it’s the fault of
liberal elites.

If, as seems all too likely, a health care debacle is imminent, blame
must be placed where it belongs: on Donald
Trump and the people who put him over the top.

As for James Comey, I hope that history comes to view him as one of the great villains of 2016 and the ruin of America.

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Out gay attorney in a committed relationship; formerly married and father of three wonderful children; sometime activist and political/news junkie; survived coming out in mid-life and hope to share my experiences and reflections with others.
In the career/professional realm, I am affiliated with Caplan & Associates PC where I practice in the areas of real estate, estate planning (Wills, Trusts, Advanced Medical Directives, Financial Powers of Attorney, Durable Medical Powers of Attorney); business law and commercial transactions; formation of corporations and limited liability companies and legal services to the gay, lesbian and transgender community, including birth certificate amendment.

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